Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Stock Price Up 0.9% – Time to Buy?

Exxon Mobil Co. (NYSE:XOM) shares shot up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $112.87 and last traded at $112.37. 19,228,798 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 44% from the average session volume of 13,346,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Exxon Mobil from $142.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Exxon Mobil from $149.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Exxon Mobil from $137.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.84.

Exxon Mobil Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $112.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.51. The company has a market capitalization of $493.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.91.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The oil and gas company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.01. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 14.73% and a net margin of 9.61%. The company had revenue of $90.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil Co. will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.99 per share. This represents a $3.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. This is an increase from Exxon Mobil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Exxon Mobil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.32%.

Institutional Trading of Exxon Mobil

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vertex Planning Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 3.1% in the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 0.9% during the third quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 9,451 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 13,378 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,568,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 14,537 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,743,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.80% of the company’s stock.

About Exxon Mobil

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas.